Thursday, April 28, 2011

NBA PLAYOFFS: GOTTA LUV'EM!!!

Avid basketball fans like me are well aware of this time of year! Teams jockeying for seeding, trash talk, and the fire of competitiveness is in the air. IT’S THE PLAYOFFS!!

Personally, I am once again rooting for both the Lakers and the hometown squad (ATL Hawks).

This year’s Western Conference playoff race is laced with its usual elite performers, as well as some great young squads. Some of the headliners include the Oklahoma City Thunder featuring NBA scoring leader Kevin Durant and lightning quick point guard Russell Westbrook, and the Memphis Grizzlies (led by a resurgent Zach Randolph). The Nuggets are led FORMERLY by Carmelo Anthony, but after a midseason trade, they are a scrappy bunch who surprisingly ended up in the middle of the Western Conference pack.

The San Antonio Spurs are also back at the top of the Western Conference with its veteran squad of Tim Duncan, Tony Parker, and Manu Ginobili. The Dallas Mavericks have their German Dirk Nowitzki leading them in the hunt again versus the Portland Trailblazers with Brandon Roy at the hem.

Chris Paul leads the New Orleans Hornets against the defending champs, THE LOS ANGELES LAKERS. KOBE, PAU, ARTEST, ODOM, FISHER. A team looking to win its THIRD TITLE in a row under the guidance of 10 time NBA coaching champ Phil Jackson.

My predictions for the Western Conference is the Lakers vs. the Thunder in the Conference Finals, I got the Lakers in 6! Below are the matchups and seedings!